The Twoleg Warrior: Dark Forest
by Glacierclaw
Summary: rewritten: Cathan has the worst life anyone can imagine. Her family and everyone at school ignores her. Her only friend is her cat, Rusty. She wishes she could be someone else. Lucky for her, her wish is about to come true...but not in the way she thought
1. Dark Forest

9-23-07

I'm not really sure if any of you guys remember me, but…I'm Glacierclaw, I was writing stories a long time ago, almost a year, for Warriors, and I'm really starting to miss it, so here I am! The reason for my huge absence would include drama, romance, sacrifice, and death…or maybe just writer's block. You take your pick. just has so many cool new features that it seems a shame not to be an active member anymore. I've started high school now, finally, and I play the Sims 2 a lot, which takes up most of my time…anyway.

This story is a rewritten and revised version of my second fic – The Twoleg Warrior. It is in a completely different tense than my first fic. This is set in the first book, with Firepaw, but won't be canon. I won't delete my first TTW fic because it might be interesting to see how much I've improved over the year that I've been gone. And have you seen the brand new warriors official site? It's SO cool. You have to see the family trees. There are a couple mistakes though, like it's Tawnypelt, not Tawnyclaw, and Willowpelt was Whitestorm's mate, not Brindleface.

Also…this fic is rated T…and probably a pretty good T too. Just to warn you.

Anyway…this is a really long author's note. :D Enjoy!

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Chapter One – Dark Forest

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I'm still not sure how it happened. It was so sudden, so impossible, I still wonder if I'm dreaming. If I'm locked in a padded room with a straitjacket. My situation certainly makes me wonder.

I had a…normal life. Back then, anyway. Perhaps my life wasn't as normal as most fourteen-year-old's would be. I stayed out of the house most of the time to avoid my mom and uncle to enjoy the fresh air, not the confined space of the way-too-small house. My dad had died a few years ago, so my mom and I were forced to move in with my uncle due to financial issues. It was perhaps one of the worst mistakes we had ever made.

My uncle, on my dad's side, was a fat, often drunken man with a part-time job. We were in deep money trouble to be reduced to having to live with him. He was the kind of uncle we never talked about, for he embarrassed the family name. Don't ask about him, Cathan, my parents had always told me. He doesn't have a story. And my mom, suddenly so focused on her career, very rarely spoke to me anymore. She had gone to college to get a degree and had returned to prove to us that she was capable of putting food on the plate. I also have an older brother and an older sister somewhere, but I don't know where they are. I don't think I've ever even met them.

That's my family in a nutshell. You can see why I question whether I had a normal life. And school…I liked school, because it gave me the chance to get the hell out of the house and away from my family. But no one ever spoke to me. My family never took me shopping, so I usually had hand-me-downs that were ragged and dirty. I looked homeless compared to the other girls at school. Faces fell when the other kids realized I had a class with them, as faces usually do. I was the kind of person who sat in the very back of the class, grumpily answered questions when called on, and always hung in the corner during gym, imagining no one could see me not participating. My grades weren't terrible though. I was deathly afraid of failing, because once I finished school and moved out, that would be my only chance for a better life.

Such a happy description of my life before the…change, I guess I could call it. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if I had stayed, if the change had not occurred, where would I be right now? It's impossible to tell.

My story starts in the very middle of summer, kneeling over my uncle's truck, putting diesel oil in the truck's engine, which was parked by the river. He apparently needed this done every day in the morning, for whatever job he had. Mom and I never spoke to him even though we live together, and he never said anything about himself either. Most of the time he acted like we weren't there…unless he was drunk.

Anyway, I dumped the diesel oil in the truck's engine. Now I was free to do whatever I wanted for the rest of the day. Mom was at work, as she usually was, so I was determined to be as far away from the house as I could.

Stepping away from the car, I turned to go into the garage and put away the oil, when a voice like a bullfrog's made me start. I whipped around, tripping over a small rock, and threw my hand out to break my fall – which was the hand that held the can of oil. I watched, with a sinking sensation, as the oil emptied into the river, rushing down the small waterfall.

An awful laugh sounded from my front porch and I turned to see my uncle standing there, clutching his enormous stomach and laughing at me, with a can of beer in the other hand. He was tall, with stringy black, matted hair that he didn't bother washing, wearing shorts and a long t-shirt. He stopped laughing suddenly and scanned the area with his beady eyes, which made him resemble a pig, then looked at me and beckoned. His angry, drunken expression had returned.

"Girl!" he growled in his low voice. "Get in here!"

I do have a name, you know, I thought bitterly, climbing to my feet with the can of oil dripping. It's Cathan. And it wouldn't hurt at all for you to use it. Of course, though, I wouldn't dare say that aloud, because I knew what would happen when I made my uncle angry.

I followed him into the house, another sinking sensation enveloping my stomach. My house was only one-story, and I was the only one who bothered to clean it, because I never could stand messes. I felt like my only purpose in the house was to be a sort of maid. Which really, wasn't the best way to think of you at all.

My stupid uncle led me into the hallway, his boots creaking on the wooden floor, and stopped suddenly. I nearly ran into him.

"Look at that," he snarled, pointing a grubby hand at something in front of him. I turned to look.

It was the vacuum cleaner, and it was lying in the middle of the floor. Whoop-de-fricking-doo. I blinked and looked back at my uncle, who looked even more furious.

"I just tripped over that!" he cried, angry that I couldn't understand. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, the disgusting slob. "And I know you were the one using it!"

Oh. That was the matter. I hesitated, choosing my words carefully. It was hard to be reasonable when he was this drunk. "Sorry," I said with a weak smile. "I'll pick it up right away."

He glared, took another swig of beer, and snarled, "You're not getting away with it that easily – you put it there, I know you did!"

Back away, get away, maybe you can get away this time –

I felt a doughy hand smack suddenly across my face with a loud smacking sound. My head jerked back and my eyes watered. I think I saw stars too. I fell back against the wooden floor and stared through my tears at my uncle, who was standing there with his hand raised, prepared to hit me again. Move! my frantic mind screamed. Get away, move!

I scrambled to my feet just as my uncle's second blow came down. I fell across the floor again, but got up quickly, ignoring the pain in my face. I could see my uncle drunkenly try to hit me again as I ran down the hall, but he missed, stumbled, and landed on the floor. Drunken bastard.

I ran to my room three doors down, went inside, slammed the door shut, and locked it. I gingerly wiped the tears from my eyes and felt the bruise on my face. It stung when I touched it. Slowly, I made my way across my room and sat in front of the vanity table, looking into the mirror.

A girl of almost fifteen stared back at me, with long, straight black hair and pale blue eyes, which at that moment were full of tears. There was an awful purple bruise below my left eye. Another day of trying to get makeup to cover it, dammit. I opened up the drawer and set to work.

I jumped when a furry head brushed my elbow and I looked down to see my ginger cat there, sitting on the bench. He purred loudly and looked up at me with those green eyes.

I reached out to pet him. "Rusty," I murmured, stroking his ears. This young kitten was the only living thing in the house that really paid me any attention. I don't really know what I'd do without him.

And then, quite suddenly, I wasn't where I thought I was.

I was low to the ground, in the forest, my legs scrambling as I chased something through the low undergrowth. I pounced suddenly, my claws outstretched, and when I landed there was a mouse between them. I killed it quickly, picked it up in my mouth, and looked around.

"Excellent," a voice called, and I turned to see a large black and gray tabby cat standing there, his tail swishing proudly.

"Thank you," I replied, dipping my head. A feeling of satisfaction rippled through me.

My head gave a jerk and I was sitting in front of a mirror again, my heart racing. What the hell was that? I stared into the mirror, at my pale face, and gasped loudly when I looked into my own eyes…the pupils had become slit-like.

I scrambled off the bench, away from the mirror, and lay down on my bed in a huff. Rusty came hurrying over to make sure I wasn't alone. I must be going insane, I thought wildly. I could have sworn I thought I was a…

I looked over at Rusty, who gave another purr. A _cat_, I thought, and closed my eyes, falling asleep in the middle of the day.

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I awoke suddenly and glanced out my window. It was getting dark, I could see the sunset. It must have been about seven or eight o' clock. If I hurried, I could eat dinner and go back to bed again.

I sat up and looked around for Rusty, to pet and let him know he was my favorite cat, but he wasn't around…he wasn't on my bed or anywhere. I looked out the window and saw that I had left it open. Oh, God, I thought, my heart sinking as I ran to the window. Rusty's never been outside before… I looked at the sky, and, to my horror, saw the lightning crack above the trees. And he's not coming back, either, I thought as ice flooded through my veins. Not after this storm.

I sank down to the floor, wishing, suddenly, that I could be someone else, anyone else. I hated my life, I really, really did. I wondered if every other girl had this many misfortunes.

My stomach rumbled and I headed out of my room toward the kitchen.

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Yay, first chapter done! As I've said before, this is not going to be canon, meaning it will not follow the books, so Redtail won't die and I don't think Tigerclaw will be evil (as of yet).

I will most likely update tomorrow unless I have a lot of homework. Constructive criticism is welcome. Please leave a review!


	2. Silver Sky

9-25-07

Second chapter up! Thank you's go to the kind people who reviewed: Streamheart, cloudfire, Wildshadow of Nightclan, Rabbitstorm, Snowfur, and soraluver: D

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Chapter Two – Silver Sky

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The haunting fact that my only friend in the world had escaped through my open window and disappeared into the dense forest outside ran through my mind for hours. I wished I hadn't been so stupid as to leave the window wide open with a house cat inside, but the hallucination I had had sitting in front of the mirror had distracted me a bit. I had stuck my head outside the door several times, calling Rusty's name, but no little orange kitten came trotting up to me. I felt like a hole had been drilled in my stomach from losing him. Maybe he'd come back, but…the lightning outside was enough to scare any cat away for good.

My stupid uncle barked at me to wash the dishes the next morning. I stood there at the sink, my forearms deep in the water, a plate in one hand and a sponge in the other. I stared deep into the water, my thoughts drifting toward Rusty. He would come back tomorrow, of course he would. I raised my hands to put the newly washed dish into the dishwasher…and abruptly dropped it in shock.

Long, curved claws were protruding out of the ends of four of my fingers. I backed away in horror, holding my hands a foot away from me, when a loud voice made me jump again.

"YOU!"

I whipped around and saw my uncle, still not completely sober, glaring at me because of the broken plate, but then I blinked, bewildered, as he stepped away from me, a look of sheer terror upon his face. I looked down at my hands and saw that they no longer had claws…but my uncle was staring at the top of my head.

He pointed stupidly and cried, "E-Ears!"

Instinctively my hands flew to the top of my head and saw triangle-shaped, fuzzy ears poking out of my black hair. I suddenly felt light-headed and more than shocked. What was happening to me? I must be going insane!

FLASH!

I sat on a cold, stone rock next to a large, gray female cat. Her voice rang out through the small clearing.

"From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as – "

FLASH!

I was standing in the kitchen again, in front of my panic-stricken uncle and standing in shards of a broken plate. Panic gripped my heart. Another hallucination…

Running past my uncle, I ran to my room…my only place of privacy. I leaned over the vanity table, my breathing ragged and loud, and saw that the ears on the top of my head were still there. I poked at them and realized that they were indeed real, fuzzy, and definitely not human. I scratched my head suddenly as I ran an agitated hand through my hair, which made me realize I had those claws again. I stared at my eyes. In the middle of the pale blue was a vertical black slit-like pupil.

I buried my face in my hands. Oh, God, what was happening to me?! _I'm dreaming, I have to be dreaming, this isn't real, it can't be! _Without warning, I felt a very strange sensation in my lower back. I turned around slowly, and, to my horror, saw a long, fluffy silver tail swishing behind me. I had a tail! A tail!

I was losing my mind. I belonged in a padded room with a straitjacket. I couldn't have pointed ears on the top of my head, claws on my fingers, or a tail…all together, I looked a bit like…like a cat.

The realization hit me. Had Rusty's leaving me made me go absolutely insane? It was reasonable, of course it was. Right, I was turning into a cat. Since I could see the changes, I guess I couldn't fight my own insanity.

I could hear my own heart pounding. I was sweating and still breathing hard. I turned to look back at the mirror to see if I had grown fur yet…but I suddenly realized I couldn't reach it. In fact, I was standing up straight and I could hardly see the top of it over the drawers.

I was shrinking!

Without warning, I felt my bones crunch. I let out a strangled yell as they shifted inside me, my back legs changing direction and my skull changing shape. Soft, fluffy gray fur was quickly covering my skin. I tried to grab my hair with my hands, but not only did I no longer have hair, my arms wouldn't bend that way to reach my head. There was nothing I could do to stop the horrifying changes.

With a final, sickening crunch, my last bone was rearranged and quite suddenly, I fell into darkness.

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When I opened my eyes, the first thing I noticed was a spider crawling across the floor only inches away from my face. I could count the hairs on all of its eight legs, and I could clearly see its eight eyes. Instinctively I reached out to grab it…the arm that pinned it to the floor was covered with fluffy gray fur, and it ended in a paw with unsheathed claws.

In sheer horror, I leapt to my feet, trying to scream, but my legs wouldn't support me. I fell over backwards, with my fluffy tummy in the air. I rolled over to the right and saw my bed…but it was much bigger than I remembered it being. I tried once again to get up, but it seemed I was no longer able to stand on two legs.

A few feet away I spotted the full-length mirror sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. My reflection showed a small, fluffy silver kitten, with wide, scared pale blue eyes, lying on the floor because I couldn't figure out how to stand up.

My little kitten heart raced and my ears began to pound. I've become a kitten. A freaking furry, whiskery, with claws, kitten. Watching myself in the mirror, I rolled over onto my stomach, put my legs out, and then stood on all four of my new paws. I walked clumsily over to the mirror and examined my reflection. Little white hairs were poking out of my ears, and I had a few long cat whiskers on each side of my face. In between them was a little eraser-colored nose. I saw that the only thing that had remained of my original appearance were my sky-blue eyes.

I banged my head against the mirror. Damn it, wake up, this dream is too bizarre…I had to be dreaming, I just had to. People don't usually turn into cats as far as I know.

My little kitten body gave a start when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. It took them about twenty more seconds to get to my room. My hearing was more acute – I could hear things farther away.

The door burst open suddenly and my uncle, nearly twelve times as large as I was now, looked around for me with those piggy eyes I hated so much. From where I was, standing down on the floor, I easily see those double chins. Ick.

He stared around the room, frustrated that I wasn't there, but to my horror his gaze dropped for just a moment…a moment enough to see an innocent gray kitten.

"ARGH!"

He let out a bull-like scream and grabbed the broom leaning against the wall. My tail fluffed out with fear. He raised the broom over his head and brought it down.

With ease I leapt out of the way of the broom with remarkable agility for a cat my age. I jumped backward, and frantically tried to find a way out. My gigantic uncle was blocking the door and he'd stomp on me if I went through it. There was only one other option.

My uncle swung the broom again as I ran toward the open window – it clipped my tail, but didn't slow me at all. I gave a quick leap toward the window and dug my tiny claws into the pane. My front legs ached as I pulled myself up – I could hear my uncle thundering toward me – I gave an enormous tug and pulled myself onto the window pane, then jumped out of the house onto the dry grass below. I landed and continued running. In a blind, confused panic, I ran wildly into the forest, up the river, as fast as I possibly could go.

Feeling suddenly exhausted, I came to a halt, panting, listening to the rushing river beside me. What would I do now? I had turned into a freaking cat – I had no home, I was in the forest and probably lost already…

A foreign scent entered my nostrils suddenly. I lifted my head, wondering what it was. It was musty and smelled a bit like fish, gross. Looking around vaguely, I jumped when the ferns and grass rustled.

Without warning, three cats crept out of the trees. These cats were much different than the house cats I was used to seeing – they were very lean, and I could see muscles beneath their silky fur. They had broad heads and were quite skinny.

And that was about when my day got even weirder. A purely black, larger cat opened his mouth…and spoke to me, in plain old English.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

I stared at him in shock and horror. Cats don't speak either, I thought frantically. I started shaking and trembling.

"Leave her alone, Blackclaw – she doesn't seem to be any threat to us," a silver cat replied. How did he know I was female? All cats looked the same to me. Nasty thoughts wandered vaguely into my panic-stricken mind.

The black cat ignored him. "Say something!" he snarled, stepping forward angrily. Blackclaw, was that his name? What a strange name for a cat.

Could I speak too? Was I like these cats? Nervously, I parted my jaws and attempted speech. I made a high-pitched squealing sound on my first try, and the cats looked at each other much like people would. This was too bizarre. I worked my tongue and even though my lips would move like a person's would, I discovered I could indeed talk.

"S-s-sorry," I stammered nervously, the feeling starting to come back into my legs. "I-I-I was chased here, I didn't mean –"

"Get off our territory!" snarled the black cat named Blackclaw, and without warning his claws were out, his teeth were bared, and there was challenge in his yellow eyes. I stood on my toes, turned around, and ran.

Stones carved flat by the river were close to the bank and led all the way across. I leapt across them with ease I never could have been able to accomplish as I human. I landed easily on the grass on the other side, and looked behind me to see if Blackclaw was still chasing me. But he had stopped at the edge as though an invisible barrier was stopping him. The other cats were watching calmly.

Blackclaw hissed at me and snarled, "And don't come back!" With that, he turned around and walked away with his tail high in the air. The two other cats followed him into the trees, disappearing as though they had never been there at all.

I stood on the bank, my little kitten heart pounding madly. Panic was replacing fear. What was I going to do, where was I going to go? I was a cat – what lives did cats lead? Was I going to wait around for some person to adopt me? That would be an awful life – a house cat. The thought made me shudder. But wild cats would have to eat rats and things like that, and I wasn't sure if I could stomach that, cat or not.

Lost in my thoughts, I wandered into the dense forest. It was slowly becoming lighter, I could sense that the sun was coming out. I would have to find a place to camp out for the night. My stomach gave a huge rumble – my motabalism must have become faster, that was why I got hungry quickly…

I froze suddenly as my nose picked up yet another unfamiliar scent. Maybe those cats had tailed me after all. My heart pounding, I looked wildly around for them, prepared to run. Where were they? If I wasn't careful I would run right into them, and that would be a disaster.

I nearly jumped when the answer to the scent I had picked up came out of the bushes right behind me. My fur fluffed out and my eyes were probably huge. An enormous white cat with pale yellow eyes crept out of the ferns, his eyes focused on me with intense curiousity. At his side was a small, pale orange cat who reminded me vaguely of Rusty. This cat looked about my age and surveyed me with disdainful green eyes. The third cat was a large tabby, who was glaring at me. I began to shake again.

"What are you doing here, young one?" murmured the big white cat. His tone was gentle and I felt myself relax a bit.

"Are you a kittypet?" inquired the ginger cat boldly. "She doesn't smell like she's from another Clan."

"She smells strongly of Twolegs," remarked the tabby. "But her fear-scent is overwhelming."

How bizarre, they could smell my fear. Interesting. New words flooded my mind. Kittypet? Clan? Twolegs? I forced myself to look into those yellow eyes of the white cat.

"I was chased here," I stuttered. "I came from across the river over there, I'm lost."

The orange female cat spoke up again. "We can take you back to your Twolegs," she meowed.

"Twolegs?" I asked, bewildered.

This time the tabby replied. "Tall, no fur, separated paws. They stand on only their back feet and have no tail at all."

I stared at him, my panicked brain registering what he said, then nodded in understanding. Twolegs was what cats called people! I couldn't help but chuckle. "I don't live with them," I told the cats.

I could tell they were stunned. "You don't live with Twolegs but you smell like one? Are you a loner then, have you been stealing their food?" The white cat sounded astonished.

I could come up with no better story. "Er…yes, that's it," I replied. "I'm a loner."

"You're so young," mused the tabby. "Where are your kin?"

Kin. I had learned that word from a Christmas song in second grade. "My mother abandoned me when I was a little younger. I don't know where she is now, but I was left to live life as a loner," I invented.

Silence fell between the three cats. I wondered if they were feeling sorry for me. After a moment the tabby leaned over to talk to the white cat. "Whitestorm, we should bring her to Bluestar, maybe…" The larger cat gave a quick nod.

"We'll bring you to our leader," he meowed. My ears pricked. Maybe there was hope for me after all! Whatever a leader was, whatever he led.

I nodded politely. "Okay, thank you," I replied.

Whitestorm and the tabby turned and walked into the ferns. The small ginger cat and I hurried to catch up. I couldn't believe my luck. This group of cats seemed so much friendlier than the cats on the other side of the river! Maybe I could have a life here after all.

The ginger cat fell into step with me. "I'm Sandpaw," she told me. "What's your name?"

I hesitated, thinking. I was hardly Cathan anymore. She was human, and she didn't exist. "I don't really have one," I replied awkwardly. Sandpaw tilted her head, not understanding. I changed the subject, panting slightly as the two of us ran after the two older cats. "What does your leader do? I mean, what does he lead?'

"She," Sandpaw corrected. "Her name's Bluestar, I can't believe you haven't heard of it. She's the leader of our Clan."

"Clan?"

"Yes, we're ThunderClan. The cats across the river are RiverClan, up by the moorland are WindClan, and in the swamps are ShadowClan." Sandpaw stated all of this as though it was obvious. ThunderClan…maybe I would be allowed to join this ThunderClan. It sounded interesting, and it was my best chance for life as a cat.

I followed the three cats to a thick wall of ferns and other plants. As we crept closer, I noticed a small tunnel leading inside. Whitestorm slipped inside followed quickly by the tabby. I ducked low under the thorns and pushed myself into the small clearing on the other side. It was located in a ravine. New scents flooded my nose as I realized that the clearing was full of cats. They were as muscular and lean as the other cats I had met so far, and they turned to stare at me as I was brought into the camp.

I counted four dens along the wall of foliage which had several cats resting in them. Another den, I noticed, was near the bottom of the ravine and was made out of rock. It looked as though it had been carved out by water. Next to it was another large rock but had no den inside.

A pale tabby trotted up to me. His ears were drawn back and his eyes looked fierce. My heart began to pound again.

"What are you doing here?" he snarled. "Don't tell me we're recruiting more useless cats?"

I felt stung at the world useless. Hadn't I managed to escape my uncle who had had a broom?

"Leave her alone, Longtail," snapped Whitestorm. "We've brought her to Bluestar. She's a loner with no place to go."

The tabby named Longtail snorted. "A loner and a kittypet in our Clan? What is ThunderClan coming to?" With a flick of his tail he trotted away and came up to a lean black and silver tabby, whispering something in his ear. The tabby whispered something back and gave me a cold stare.

These cats seemed to be uneasy at taking in cats outside the Clan. I wondered if they would let me join. My heart leapt when I saw an older gray cat come up to us.

The cat flicked her tail at me and asked, "Who is this?"

"We found her wandering the forest," replied Whitestorm. "She's a loner, and we think she was chased out of RiverClan territory. She seems strong, but a little jumpy."

The gray cat narrowed her eyes. "What are you suggesting?"

Whitestorm took a breath. "I think we should allow her to join the Clan," he told the older cat.

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Snicker snort, I left you with a cliffy. In chapter three, expect the answers to these questions: Will Bluestar let Cathan into the Clan? And if she does, who will her mentor be? And what will Cathan do when she realizes her cat Rusty is a Clan cat now? All of these questions will be answered in chapter three of The Twoleg Warrior…now please review. XD


	3. Glacier Peak

10-3-07

This is slightly late – I should have updated Friday or something but my computer went boom. It wouldn't boot. We're getting a laptop very soon, so let's hope that my next chapter will be posted on my brand new laptop!

Many thanks to the people who reviewed – Flamespirit, Wildtotodile, The Piglet, soraluver, Rabbitstorm, Cloudfire, Snowfur, Peachfoot, Streamheart, and Dragonheart.

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Chapter Three – Glacier Peak

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The silvery cat studied me thoughtfully. I guessed she was a female because of her voice, but how was I supposed to know with cats? And why would she let me join her cat group thing? I was just a scared little gray kitten whose fear was apparently very smelly. A thought struck me that I wasn't making a very good impression. I had to prove to these cats how badly I wanted to be accepted. Never thought I'd be saying that.

I stood on all four of my paws and looked at the silver cat, narrowing my eyes into what I hoped was a defiant expression. She must have been the leader of this group of cats. Clan, it had been called. "I would like to join your er, Clan, and have a better chance at life," I told her.

The cat twitched her whiskers. I wondered what kind of facial expression that would have been for a person's – was she annoyed, amused, or what? A feeling of frustration clutched at my paws. "Young cat, do you even know what you are saying? Do you have what it takes to train with our apprentices, to hunt in the forest, to defend your Clan with all your heart from enemies?" She shook her head and flicked her tail at the large white cat named Whitestorm. "Take her out of here."

Ears flattened, Whitestorm beckoned me with his tail, but I stood my ground. "I might not be used to this kind of lifestyle, but I'm sure I can change." Unhelpfully, I suddenly caught sight of a large pile of dead mice, birds, and other sorts of rodents. I stared at it and felt the bile rise to my mouth.

"And you look at fresh-kill like it is something disgusting," said the silver cat. I couldn't tell if she herself was disgusted.

I stared at the pile with fear filling my heart – if I was allowed to join this Clan thing, would I be able to do…that? These are cats, Cathan, I thought. Cats living in the forest. Of course they hunt live prey. And you're a cat now too, so you should get used to it. I shook my head as though trying to shake water out of it and said carefully, "I am not used to seeing prey this plentiful. Where I come from, food is hard to find."

I thought that sounded pretty convincing. When the silver cat hesitated, I hastily put in, "You might need more members for, erm, enemies." I wondered what kinds of enemies that might be, and once again I questioned what I was signing up for. "Give me a chance, please. You might regret sending me away."

I spotted Sandpaw beside another young tabby cat, who let out a hiss at my words. I wondered vaguely if I had said something offensive. I reminded myself that I was talking to a Clan leader. I wished I knew some sort of cat gesture that would make me seem respectful…

The larger silver cat studied me for a long time. I decided it was best staying quiet for a little while. At last she said, "I will see if you are worthy to be a full warrior of our Clan. You will be a ThunderClan apprentice." ThunderClan, that's right. That's what Sandpaw had called this Clan.

I nodded slowly. "Thank you so much. I won't let you down."

"Your naming ceremony will come along shortly." With that, she turned and whisked away toward the small cave in the rock, leaving me feeling stunned. Naming ceremony? Oh God, in front of all these cats? I remembered school plays I had been forced to be in as a human, and had been nervous as hell. Then I remembered that that was then, this is now – I was being stupid. Who cared if I had to be named in front of all of these cats? I told myself not to worry about it.

Sandpaw, the little orange cat, trotted over to greet me. "Congratulations," she said to me. "I'm really glad Bluestar let you join ThunderClan."

"Thanks," I replied. "I'm glad to be here."

I glanced around the clearing. I counted about twelve or so cats in the area – most were whispering to each other and staring at me. Once again I wished I was better at reading cat's expressions. Were they relieved to have another member or angry that I was an outsider?

Just then the pale tabby known as Longtail stalked up to me with his dark-furred friend behind him. I lifted my head and stared up at both of them. "ThunderClan is weakening," snarled Longtail. "Kittypets and loners being accepted into the Clan! This is becoming ridiculous. Go home."

"Don't embarrass ThunderClan," added the dark-furred cat.

"I'll show you how useless I am," I retorted, feeling better about being here after the leader had let me in. The two cats scoffed and snorted and walked away, twitching the ends of their tails.

"Longtail and Darkstripe were angry when Firepaw was brought here too," meowed Sandpaw. "They think that only cats with Clan blood can be ThunderClan warriors."

They could be right, I thought bitterly. But I said, "Well, they'll just have to wait and see that I'll do better than any Clan cat." Privately I was thinking I didn't have a clue what I was saying. I had no idea what it means to be a…warrior, it had been called. I prayed that I had what it would take. "And what's a kittypet?" I asked Sandpaw.

"A cat that lives with Twolegs," was the reply. I nodded in understanding. "Come on, I'll show you the other apprentices." She turned and trotted over to the smallest den. I followed her as quickly as I could.

The den was made of ferns, leaves, bushes, mainly anything that was near. Inside were five large spots of moss that I guessed was what the cats slept on. Two cats were inside the den – the brown tabby I had seen before and a smaller black cat with a white dash on his chest.

"Firepaw and Graypaw are out with Redtail on a training assessment," meowed Sandpaw. "This is Dustpaw and Ravenpaw."

I nodded and said, "Why do all your names end in 'paw'?" It seemed really weird. As if that was the weirdest thing going on here…

The brown tabby named Dustpaw twitched his ears. "Because we're apprentices," he snapped. "Once we become warriors, then we'll get our full names."

I ignored Dustpaw's irritable tone and said, "What exactly does a warrior _do?_"

"Get killed in battles or fall into waterfalls," muttered the black cat named Ravenpaw.

"Ravenpaw!" exclaimed Sandpaw. "That's not what –"

A sudden cry sounded from outside the den – I recognized that voice, it was the leader. I fought to remember her name. It came to me after a few seconds – Bluestar. The leader of ThunderClan was Bluestar, I had to remember that. "All cats old enough to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting."

Sandpaw flicked her tail over my shoulder. "Come on," she said to me. "It's your naming ceremony!"

"What do I do?" I asked, feeling suddenly nervous again as we walked toward the large rock beside Bluestar's den, which she was sitting upon. I didn't want to mess up.

"When she calls your name, just go up there and sit beside her. She should name a mentor for you too – I wonder who you'll get."

"Mentor?" I said, feeling suddenly excited. I glanced around the rows of cats who were giving me odd looks. Which one of them would be my mentor? "Does Bluestar take apprentices?"

"Yes, but she already has one. So does Redtail – that's our deputy. All of the senior warriors have apprentices too – the choice is limited, you know." Sandpaw twitched her ears.

An excited feeling gripping my heart, I looked up at Bluestar, sitting strong and calm upon the large rock, waiting for the rest of the cats to join the group. I wished she could be my mentor – I knew I'd learn everything from her. At last, Bluestar meowed, "ThunderClan, the threat from RiverClan grows stronger every day. I have decided to allow a spirited young cat to join our Clan."

To my horror, howls of outrage erupted from the cats, filling the forest with angry voices.

"_Another_ one?!"

"How many outsiders will ThunderClan take?"

"StarClan forbid a loner!"

Bluestar waited calmly for silence. "I understand your fears. If this loner proves to be incapable, she will be banished." The air seemed to vanish from my lungs. Don't be incapable, then, I thought nervously. I could hear my heart pounding. I watched as Bluestar beckoned me with her tail. Feeling as though my legs were made of lead, I stumbled toward her on my brand new four paws.

I nearly slid off the Highrock when I jumped upon it – hoping I didn't look stupid, I hastily sat beside Bluestar and she continued the ceremony. "May StarClan see and approve my decision to allow this newcomer to join ThunderClan."

What the bloody hell is StarClan? I wondered vaguely. The cats stared up at me with uncertainty in their eyes and I was once again reminded that I had to prove myself worthy. I held my head high and tried not to look as scared as I really was.

Bluestar turned to face me, murmuring words only I could hear. "You eyes look like glaciers on a mountain's peak," she whispered. Raising her voice, she continued, "From this day forward, until you earn your warrior name, you will be known as Glacierpaw, in honor of your beautiful blue eyes."

Glacierpaw! My heart glowed at my new name. I repeated it over and over in my head. It _was_ a great name. It was then, suddenly, that I realized I had gone though this before – I had heard these words in my head once before. But that was impossible – I must have been imagining it. I glanced down at the cats, hoping they were feeling better about me, and saw that three more had arrived – a many-colored cat with a fluffy orange tail, a smaller gray cat, and a dark orange cat sitting next to it.

I froze suddenly, staring at the ginger cat with disbelief clutching at my paws. Oh, God, it couldn't be – could it? Was…was that Rusty? He had run away from home not long ago – was this where he had ended up? Relief washed over me – at least I knew he was safe, but would he know that I was his old master?

"Glacierpaw," Bluestar hissed suddenly. I jerked my head back to her and gave myself a quick shake. I guessed I had been staring at Rusty while Bluestar waited to continue my ceremony. "Glacierpaw, you will need a mentor to show you the ways of a Clan cat." Excitement filled my heart again – I was finally going to meet my mentor. "You mentor will be Darkstripe."

All of the hope and elatedness in my heart vanished suddenly like water down a drain as the black cat who had insulted me earlier stared at Bluestar with a mixture of horror and humiliation. Clearly he didn't want to be my mentor at all. I bowed my head and twitched my ears awkwardly – Bluestar must have known that this cat named Darkstripe would object – why would she choose him to mentor me? Did she want me to learn the ways of Clanlife as quickly as possible so she assigned me a difficult mentor?

Bluestar whispered in my ear. "Touch noses with your new mentor to accept him."

Accept him? Like hell I'd accept him as my fricking mentor. I didn't want to appear disobidient, so I hastily clampered down from the Highrock and trotted over to the dark tabby I recognized as Darkstripe. I hesitated before approaching him – would he flat-out refuse? But the black cat bowed his head and I rushed forward to touch my nose to his. It was kind of weird – like we were kissing. Uncomfortable thoughts drifted into my mind. I broke the moment immediately and looked back over at Rusty. The orange cat was watching me with what I guessed was a curious expression – he gave no sign that he recognized me, but then again, who would.

I looked back at Darkstripe, who was still numb with shock. "Er…what will we be doing first?" I asked awkwardly, remembering this was the cat who had called me useless not long ago.

Darkstripe avoided my gaze and mumbled something like, "Exploring the territory." With that he turned around and headed toward what I guessed was the warriors' den.

My heart began to pound. My mentor seemed to be embarrassed he had received one of the outsiders of the Clan as an apprentice. The other warriors would probably tease him. Well, I thought huffily, turning to stalk towards the apprentices' den, I'll have to show him just how good I can be…that's all. I'll make sure that Darkstripe doesn't regret me being his apprentice at all.

I flinched as Rusty padded up to me. "Hello," he said. "I'm Firepaw. You must be Glacierpaw."

I stared at him. Firepaw! I thought. What an incredible name. "Er…that's right," I replied. This was too bizarre – this was the same cat who had comforted me whenever my uncle attacked me, who slept on my pillow at night… "Who is your mentor?"

"Bluestar," he answered proudly. "I'm sorry you got a fleabag like Darkstripe for a mentor."

So Bluestar doesn't think that badly about outsiders after all if she's willing to take one as an apprentice, I thought. Then why did she give me Darkstripe? Did she really think I would be that disobedient?

"Where will I sleep?" I asked Firepaw.

He let out a purr – it was the same purr that he used when he leapt onto my bed to comfort me on my uncle's behavior. "With the rest of the apprentices, in the apprentices' den. You'll have to make your own bed, but it's really comfortable. I'll help you."

We walked back to the familiar apprentices' den where Sandpaw, Ravenpaw, and Dustpaw were already waiting. Sandpaw and Ravenpaw greeted me warmly, but Dustpaw turned away and muttered about outsiders and loners. Anxiety filled my stomach as I turned toward Firepaw and asked about a bed.

"You just rip off the moss, like this…" Bringing out his claws, he shredded the curly green stuff off of a nearby rock and set it on the leafy ground in clumps.

I stepped forward. I hadn't used my claws since my escape from my uncle. Bunching my paw together slightly, I was amazed as they popped out, and retracted as I relaxed. Sandpaw purred.

"Never seen your claws before?" she asked, watching me closely.

"No," I replied, too quickly. "Er – I mean, I just miss them, is all…" To cover up my error, I hastily padded over to Firepaw and helped rip the moss off of the rock to make my bed. I pushed it together with my nose and stared down at it when it was finished – it didn't look especially comfortable; I missed my warm, soft bed back home, but I couldn't exactly use that right now. With a huge yawn, I suddenly realized how tired I was. Running across the black cat's territory seemed ages ago. Without waiting for anyone to say good-night, I curled up into a furry gray ball and was soon fast asleep.

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

Yay, third chapter done. I chose Darkstripe as Glacierpaw's mentor, because let's face it, Darkstripe might seem like the bad-guy follower type, but really, he's got a sensitive side that just wants a pony. Let's all be nice to Darkstripe.

Also, I would really appreciate it if someone would come up with a different way to post this story's title - I really don't like the X's in front and behind 'rewritten.' Any suggestions are welcome.

In the next chapter, expect these questions: Will Glacierpaw tell Firepaw that she is his owner? Will Darkstripe accept Glacierpaw as his apprentice without complaint? What exactly is the threat from RiverClan? And will I ever shut up? Hope to see you on chapter four, people!

However, first, a quick word from the author. As some of you may have noticed, I got a flame for my original TTW fic from – you guessed it – Fanned Chocolate. Well, I'm a little pissed off about this, because honestly, I was only 13 when I wrote it. I'm not saying it's a wonderful fic either, it lacks detail and sense, but really, I bet the asshole didn't even read the fic to be able to judge it, even though the review was on chapter 9. I hate how he uses so many cuss words in his reviews – heh, not that I use any – but come on, some people just don't care what kind of content they post as long as they're part of this wonderful site…so they're probably all pretty young. Jerkhead.

So I ask everyone here to block this Fanned Chocolate bastard from flaming anyone. He'll probably get a new account once we've all blocked him, but we'll continue to block him, right guys?! So all of you, log in and enter your block list and type in Fanned Chocolate or his user code or whatever it is…right after you review, of course. XD


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